Episode 6694

Extended Summary

Maggie shows Ben the bedroom, giving various ideas for how they could arrange it and pointing out the girls would have a room each. Ben is unsure, feeling that they can’t just leave the city. Maggie points out that he could go surfing every day. She says that Ziggy doesn’t have any ties to the city except Jarrod, who they want her to stay away from anyway, and Coco isn’t happy there. At Salt, Mason asks Brody about his meeting. Raffy, Coco and Ziggy come in; Ziggy was persuaded to accompany the others to a movie. She and Brody chat about the fact the Astonis are leaving in the morning. Coco and Raffy convince Ziggy to stay for one of Brody’s desserts.

Alf and Leah have gone to see Irene to pitch their plan to buy the pier to her. Irene says she doesn’t have any money to go in with them but is quite happy for them to buy it. Back at the farm house, Maggie is working out the figures and says they’ll be able to afford everything if they sell the house. Ben doesn’t think Diana will like that, since she bought it for them, but Maggie says she only did that because they were expecting Ziggy and the area was cheap. They are still worried about the girls; Maggie thinks she could talk Coco round but Ziggy could be more of a problem. They decide to sleep on it and put it to the girls in the morning if they still think it’s a good idea.

Brody and Ziggy discuss the dessert on the balcony. Mason watches on, looking worried, as Ziggy wonders about Brody’s recent time off and jokes about his secretive meetings; Brody simply says he needed a break. They note they’re going to miss spying on people from the balcony. Mason interrupts, saying he’s walking Raffy home and asking if Ziggy and Coco want to come with them. Ziggy agrees but arranges to meet Brody the next day for coffee. Meanwhile, John and Marilyn are fretting about Raffy’s whereabouts when she turns up. She is somewhat blasé about the fact they didn’t know where she was, saying her phone died. They worry when she says she got the bus back, telling her in future to call and get John to pick her up. Instead of going to bed as they suggest, she decides to stay up and watch a movie.

Next morning, Ben and Maggie stop Ziggy as she’s about to go off and meet Brody, telling her and Coco they’ve got some news. Their serious manner and reluctance to get to the point cause the girls to come up with various theories – Diana’s dead, they’re getting divorced, they’re renovating the house – before they finally says that if everyone’s on board, they want to move there. Ziggy refuses point blank: It was a nice place for a holiday but their friends, her boyfriend and Coco’s school are all in the city. Coco agrees she doesn’t want to move. Both girls storm off. Ziggy goes to Salt to meet Brody, telling him of her parents’ plan to stay but saying Coco will never agree to it. Brody asks if Ziggy can change her mind and Ziggy, non-plussed, asks why she’d do that. Mason calls Brody into the store room for a private chat and tells him he’s not supposed to start a relationship while in rehab.

John and Marilyn are somewhat put out by the fact that, even though they’ve put on breakfast, Raffy is still in bed, having stayed up until two. Raffy finally surfaces but only grabs minimal breakfast on her way out to the beach. She has also put a henna tattoo on her hand, using Marilyn’s kit, and jokes about getting a real one. At the Diner, John and Marilyn fill in Roo, who suggests Raffy is used to looking after herself. Mason comes in and they tell him they hardly see Raffy. Mason mentions an important history assignment she’s meant to be doing during the holidays, which they knew nothing about. Alf comes in and reminds Leah they’re due at the bank to discuss a loan for the pier purchase.

Maggie follows Coco (who she calls Coco Pops, to her annoyance) along the beach. Coco still isn’t keen on staying, despite seeing Raffy nearby. Maggie leaves her there while she goes to look for Ben and Ziggy. Coco tells Raffy about the plan and Raffy says she used to live at the farm. Coco isn’t keen on change but Raffy says she had to do it when she moved there. She encourages her about moving, saying she can go to school with her, she will get used to the beach and everyone in town looks out for each other…plus Raffy herself is there. At Salt, Brody tries to drop hints to Ziggy about staying. The penny finally drops and she tells him she has a boyfriend in the city and only sees him as a friend. Ben turns up and asks Ziggy to come with him.

Maggie and Ben show Ziggy and Coco around the farm house. Ziggy complains how isolated it is, plus there’s snakes (Ben jokes that they’ll eat the rats). Coco, who is starting to come round, says Raffy told her there’s a bus nearby. Ziggy still refuses however. Left alone, Ben and Maggie muse whether they can let Ziggy decide for all of them. Ben isn’t keen on forcing her to move, but since she’s dependent on them, with no HSC and no job, she may have to. Ziggy comes in, wanting to leave, but they tell her that if their offers on the pier and the farm house are accepted they’ll be moving. Ziggy is annoyed that they took time to talk Coco round but expect her to just put up with it.

Raffy comes home, saying she just needs to have a nap before going back out. John and Marilyn drop some fairly heavy hints about starting the assignment, saying they’ll help and it’s best not to leave it till the last minute, but she is dismissive and goes to her room. John tells Marilyn they need to go full parent. When Raffy reappears, John insists she can’t go out and has to start work on the assignment. Raffy refuses so John sends her to her room. Marilyn doesn’t seem to consider it a success.

Alf and Leah arrive back at the Diner and tell Irene and Roo they got the loan and put the bid in. Alf then gets a call from the agent, Cindy, but it’s to say they’ve been outbid. They put in their highest offer and the new one was way above them anyway, so there’s nothing they can do. Outside their caravan, Ben and Maggie pop open the champagne…or sparkling grape juice from the supermarket, as Coco is quick to point out. Ziggy emerges from the caravan with her bags packed, saying she’s going back to the city on her own and going to get a job, despite their protests. She goes to Salt and asks Brody for a lift. Ben comes in and Brody says he’ll wait by the van. Ben tries to get Ziggy to stay but she says she doesn’t need him and walks out.